NFC Notes: Commanders, Eagles, Giants, Darren Waller

Commanders

Commanders OC Eric Bieniemy had high praise of their tight ends group including position coach Todd Storm and TEs Logan Thomas, John Bates, Cole Turner and Curtis Hodges. 

“You know what the tight end room is doing a heck of a job,” Bieniemy said, via CommandersWire. “Coach Todd Storm has done a hell of a job with those guys. I mean, Logan [Thomas], [John] Bates, Cole [Turner], Curtis [Hodges]. Those guys are doing a heck of a job. In fact, those guys have stood out for all the right reasons.”

Bieniemy mentioned his system has always been “tight end-friendly” and thinks they’ve already been productive at implementing the position. 

“Obviously, in this offense, it’s always been a tight end-friendly offense,” Bieniemy said. “Those guys, they show up, they’re making plays, and the quarterbacks have been doing a great job of locating them in the passing game. So far, so good. Like I said, these guys are hardworking, got a lot of veterans in that group. I think from top down, the depth is pretty good, and I’m just proud of where we are at this particular point in time.”

Eagles

Eagles TE Dallas Goedert said that he thinks QB Jalen Hurts and Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes are the two best quarterbacks in the league.

“I think Jalen has to be at the top,” Goedert said, via PFT. “I think he should be top three, top two. It’s hard to take anything away from Patrick. You go down the list and there’s probably 10 quarterbacks that could be in the Top 5, depends on what fan base you are. But personally speaking, Jalen is Top 2.”

Giants

Giants OC Mike Kafka wants his team to get on the board quicker during games and adding skill players like TE Darren Waller this offseason should help with that.

“We need to start faster,” Kafka said on the Giants Huddle: Front Office Edition podcast. “For us as an offense, that’s probably the one thing that we’re emphasizing — just a fast start. I think we did as a team last year but as an offense specifically, I think we can get off to a better start. That was a big-time study for us as a group, as a staff. We went and talked to the players throughout the phases here. That’s been a huge emphasis.”

Even though Waller is a tight end (who converted from receiver), his speed and athleticism at his size give the Giants a weapon to dictate matchups on offense that they didn’t have in 2022. 

“I think any time you have flexibility in your scheme it gives you an advantage,” Kafka added. “Being able to move pieces around — put guys in the backfield, out of the backfield, spread the field, tighten and condense it. It just adds more, whether it’s gaps in the run game, adds more space on the field for defenders to defend. It gives you more multiplicity within the offense.”

• Jordan Raanan of ESPN said Waller’s explosiveness has been a big takeaway from his offseason thus far.